Review: Russell Kane Lights Up Exeter Phoenix With Latest Tour

This article was published on my university media website, Xmedia Online.

Russell Kane: Smokescreens and Castles @ LOL (Laugh Out Loud) Festival, Exeter Phoenix

Sunday 23 January

Striding onto stage in tight skinny jeans and an equally close-fitting T-shirt, Russell Kane was the very picture of middle class ‘indie chic’ at ‘Smokescreens and Castles’, his stand up tour which hit the Phoenix as part of Exeter’s Laugh out Loud comedy festival.

Early on in his set, the 30 year-old comedian explained his routine would be loosely based on each room in his family’s ‘castle,’ a reference to Kane’s childhood home on an Enfield council estate. This structure was not strictly kept to for the full hour owing to Kane’s ready ability to get sidetracked. Nonetheless, this arrangement did provide for some of the funniest observational comedy currently on the circuit, and for a moving depiction of working-class family life in the 80s and 90s.

Kane’s self-conscious style of comedy, “self-heckling; so postmodern”, contrasted strangely with his confident appearance, but the comedian was able to tread that thin line between whining self-pity and irritating over-confidence. This vulnerability may have been exacerbated by his break up with long-term girlfriend and comedy partner, Sadie Hasler, but regardless, Kane’s intimacy with the audience perfectly suited his stream of anecdotal comic stories centred on his family life - specifically his relationship with his father.

It’s rare to see a comedy set that makes you cry with laughter on more than one occasion, and ‘Smokescreens and Castles’ did just that. Russell Kane is a rising star on the comedy scene and his latest tour comes highly recommended.

The Laugh Out Loud comedy festival is running in Exeter until 10 February.

For more information or to book tickets:

www.exeterphoenix.org.uk or 01392 667 080